Newtecnic

Newtecnic is a firm of architects and engineering designers led by Andrew Watts, Howard Tee and Yasmin Watts. Newtecnic undertakes early stage design work for projects where clients require bold, near-future designs. The company also develops innovative facade and structural designs, working alongside other architects.

The approach adopted by Newtecnic allows the company to focus on bold, near-future architectural design as well as the facade design and structural engineering of complex forms where interdependency is required between the structure and facade. Their early stage near-future designs are taken to the next stages by other architectural companies, who specialise in the execution of large-scale projects.

Facade design and structural engineering activities are supported by physical modelling and prototyping of structure and facade assemblies, typically with new techniques of fabrication. This work may be supported by facade-specific environmental design tasks. The engineering and design skills of Newtecnic allow the firm to communicate, through the Modern Construction series, the key issues of 21st century building engineering and design. Newtecnic are holders of The Queen’s Award for Enterprise and has been ranked in the top three of New Civil Engineer 100 Companies of the Year.

Contents

  1. Background

  2. Education and influences

  3. Projects

  4. Awards

  5. Publications

  6. References

Newtecnic

Formation 1995
Type Limited Company
Area served Worldwide
Services Architecture,
Engineering
Industry Architecture, Engineering,
Construction
Website www.newtecnic.com

Background

The firm was founded in London in 1995. The Newtecnic approach has, over the last 25 years, been all about learning the craft of design engineering and architecture, including modelling, analysis and prototyping of project-specific systems for building envelopes and structures. Their first project, of which they were a team member, was Federation Square in Melbourne; then Burjuman in Dubai, followed by a series of high-profile built projects before launching Newtecnic’s own multidisciplinary practice of architecture and engineering. This independence has allowed the company to reach 3rd position in the NCE list of Top 100 companies, just behind Arup. The Queen’s Award for Enterprise in 2018 burnished their reputation for architecture and engineering design.

From the early days of Newtecnic in 1995, Yasmin Watts and Andrew Watts have been engaged in large-scale architecture competitions with other architects, while developing their own high-profile multi-disciplinary practice of engineers and architects. The development of the design engineering side of their work has allowed them to make major contributions to projects alongside internationally-established concept architects. In recent years, they have worked independently as architects and engineers on the design and execution of large-scale ambitious projects around the world, working for developers, government agencies and international contractors.

Newtecnic applies a technical mastery at a level equal to any of its competitors, allowing the firm to provide high value design while keeping associated construction costs within budget. Technical data gathered over 25 years, as shared in the Modern Construction series of Newtecnic-authored architecture textbooks, allows Newtecnic to optimise costs of construction from an early stage of a project. This technical and data-driven approach allows the firm to compete alongside the biggest names in architecture and engineering design. Founding directors Yasmin and Andrew Watts spent their formative years in senior roles at the offices of Renzo Piano and Jean Nouvel respectively. These mentors passed to Yasmin and Andrew a love of the art of construction and its application in high-profile complex projects.

As Newtecnic developed further, Howard Tee joined the leadership in 2008. Howard leads the firm’s application and evolution of architectural technologies and methodology; Andrew leads Newtecnic’s engineering technologies and associated methodology. Howard and Andrew work together to design all projects using a a method which combines architectural design with engineering design; an aspiration of those who taught them both. Design work is supported by Yasmin as creative director, whose work is informed by her sculptural practice. Trained at the Royal College of Art, Yasmin is bringing her architectural skills into designing public sculpture

As the firm grew, the technical books in the Modern Construction series, authored by the company and published by Birkhauser, provided the basis of extensive technical data on implementing the art of building construction. The leadership team have evolved their own drawings, models and analysis over the past 25 years. They continue to generate the main outputs themselves, with no tasks being delegated to outside firms. Supporting teams of architects and engineers are responsible for iterating and editing the outputs of the leadership, under their direct supervision.

With the growth of the firm, Newtecnic has developed an ever-greater understanding of the engineering and construction aspects of architectural design through the publication of a series of textbooks which have become standard volumes in most schools of architecture. Now in its 5th edition, the Modern Construction Handbook was written, and continues to be updated, as a result of the technical data acquired over the past 25 years. Their work as Newtecnic has been informed by their deep understanding of structural and environmental systems and how these can be applied to ambitious architectural design projects as seen in the two volumes of Modern Construction Case Studies and Modern Construction Envelopes, now in their 3rd editions.

Andrew Watts, Engineer & Architect, FICE FIED FIET FRSA CEng RIBA

Yasmin Watts, Architect & Sculptor, FRSA MRes(RCA) Dip Sculpture ARB BArch BSc(Hons)

Howard Tee, Engineer & Architect, MIED MIET RIBA ARB MArch(Dist) BSc(Hons)

Education and influences

Newtecnic architectural design is influenced by teachers:

Newtecnic architectural design is guided by our experiences of working for:

Newtecnic engineering design is influenced by:

Newtecnic architectural design is influenced by:

 

Newtecnic thinking on urban design and technology is grounded in the writings of:

The City in History; Technics & Civilisation; Lewis Mumford

Sources of Newtecnic design for the following specific stages of thought in the design and construction of buildings:

  • Thinking that links urban design to building design

  • Thinking that links building design to construction technologies

  • Thinking that links construction technologies to construction methods

  • Thinking that links engineering design to engineering production.

 

Projects

 
 

Awards

In 2020, Newtecnic were shortlisted for the New Civil Engineer Awards, Companies of the Year 2020, in the Engineering Culture: Leader in Collaboration category.

In 2019, Newtecnic were ranked 3rd on New Civil Engineer's Top 100 Power List of civil engineering firms to work for and with, and were shortlisted in the Engineering Impact in Energy category.

In 2018, Newtecnic received the Queens’s Award for Enterprise, which recognises outstanding achievement in the fields of Innovation, International Trade, Sustainable Development and Promoting Opportunity.

Publications

Newtecnic are authors of the textbooks, published by Birkhauser and RIBA Publishing, used in universities and professionals worldwide.

Modern Structural Design, First Edition

Modern Environmental Design, First Edition

Modern Construction Handbook, Sixth Edition

Modern Construction Envelopes, Third Edition

Modern Construction Case Studies, Second Edition

Modern Construction Case Studies, First Edition

References

Newtecnic have 150 articles published in international technical magazines in the last 3 years. Listed here are 30 of those scholarly articles, featuring Newtecnic’s approach, technology and project outputs:

1. Digital pattern books disrupt construction industry. Civil + Structural Engineer. 1 June 2019.

2. Design engineering for a future world. newdesign magazine. 2019 yearbook.

3.  Welcome to the future. AEC Magazine, The 100th Edition. January/February 2019.

4.  Digital twins for construction: out with the old, in with the twin. E&T magazine. 16 January 2019.

5.  Best Practice, Redefined: Uncovering The Impact Of Drone Uptake. Feature in the eBook ‘Drones In Construction – Construction Takes Flight in 2018’. UK Construction Online. 2018.

6. Surface Beauty. newdesign magazine. Issue 133, 2018.

7. Scaleable Responses To Infrastructure Innovation. CEO Today magazine. December 2018.

8.  Multi Industry Opportunities. Engineering magazine. September 2018.

9.  Digital builds: The technology taking construction to the next level. The Engineer magazine. 6 August 2018.

10. Grand Theatre de Rabat, Morocco. Concrete Engineering International magazine. August 2018.

11. Newtecnic and Cambridge University Construction Research Partnership Delivers Concrete Facade Innovation. Premier Construction News. 29 July 2018.

12. Newtecnic and Cambridge University Construction Research Partnership Delivers Concrete Facade Innovation. Informed Infrastructure. 26 July 2018.

13. Cambridge research partnership pays dividends for building envelope design. The Construction Index magazine. 25 July 2018.

14.  Firm Profile: Newtecnic. AECbytes. 24 July 2018.

15. Design and Construction Disconnect. Civil + Structural Engineer. 1 July 2018.

16.  Cool Working In Hot Climates. EnvironmentalEngineering.org.uk. June 2018.

17.  How to engineer the future and increase energy efficiency. Consulting-Specifying Engineer. 28 June 2018.

18.  Newtecnic: Naturally Efficient. Construction Global. 16 June 2018.

19. Brave face: Managing change on the curviest, most complex façades. Construction Research and Innovation journal, volume 9, 2018, issue 2. DOI: 10.1080/20450249.2018.1480126. 01 June 2018.

20.  Optimizing construction technologies and methods. Civil + Structural Engineer. 1 June 2018.

21.  Closing The Gap Between Designing And Making. Institution of Engineering Designers (IED). 01 May 2018.

22. Newtecnic: Embracing The Third Dimension With Newtecnic. Construction Global magazine. April 2018.

23. Future Perfect. The Construction Index magazine. March 2018.

24.  Futuristic UK engineering firm hits America. Global Construction Review. 9 February 2018.

25.  Dreaming spires - towering vision. AEC Magazine. January/February 2018.

26.  Talking to Machines. Construction Computing. January/February 2018.

27. KAFD Metro, Riyadh. Concrete Engineering International magazine. January 2018. Reproduced on buildingconstructiondesign.co.uk on 25 October 2017.

28.  Building With Numbers. GeoConnexion International Magazine. October 2017.

29.  Building Visions. The Engineer magazine. September 2017.

30. Very Grand Designs. Institution of Engineering Designers (IED). 01 September 2017.